For many businesses, a successful cloud migration will improve scalability, reduce costs, and significantly improve the security of cyber assets. Getting your business IT into the cloud requires a cloud migration service, so what is cloud migration, and why is it important for your business?
What is Cloud Migration?
It’s likely you have used, or regularly use a cloud service in your business already. Services like Zoom, Gmail, Office 365, and SharePoint are all cloud-based services many companies have integrated into their workflow.
However, these are products that already exist in the cloud and only require an account to access them. A cloud migration is more involved as it moves data, applications, and operating systems from a private server usually hosted where the business operates to a powerful server hosted inside a remote data center.
What Are Cloud Migration Services?
Using a cloud migration service means you transfer your IT infrastructure and software to a remotely managed service like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure or other cloud service. Cloud services remove the cost and security risks of hosting servers and software on site, while ensuring your staff continue to have access to their data and a familiar operating environment.
There are various types of cloud migration services depending on a company’s needs.
Data Center Migration transfers data stored on on-premises servers to a cloud provider’s servers, usually consisting of large powerful data centers in secure, professionally maintained buildings.
Hybrid Cloud Migration leaves some of the resources on the premises and only transfers a segment of the data to the cloud. Hybrid clouds are a valuable resource for backups as a data recovery solution.
Database, Application and Mainframe Migration moves the entire workload into the cloud to provide numerous benefits, including reduced costs, reliable performance, and more frequent updates. Systems that are frequently migrated to cloud servers include SAP, SQL Server, Windows Server, and Linux.
Cloud to Cloud Migrations have grown more frequent with the growing popularity of cloud services. Organizations use cloud-to-cloud migrations to take advantage of special pricing or features unique to a particular cloud service provider.
Business Benefits of Cloud Migration
Now that you understand more about what a cloud migration service is, you are probably keen to learn about the benefits a cloud migration can bring to your business. Here are just a few excellent reasons to consider a cloud migration service.
Cloud Servers Deliver Enhanced Security
With the right service, migrating to the cloud will provide a more secure environment for your IT infrastructure. You no longer have to worry about flood or fire destroying your equipment and data or thieves stealing your physical hardware.
Any cloud service you choose will have a team of dedicated security professionals working around the clock to protect your data. While you should always maintain a backup schedule of your own, cloud services have redundancy protocols built in. Should one of their servers experience a problem, you often won’t even notice as other servers seamlessly take over from the compromised hardware.
You Will Improve Your ROI on IT Infrastructure
Maintaining on-site equipment with updates and upgrades is a cost-prohibitive exercise, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises.
IT infrastructure consumes many resources such as real estate square footage to house it, electricity to run powerful servers, and air-conditioning for cooling. You also need expensive professionals on your payroll to ensure everything is always running smoothly.
A cloud migration service eliminates many of these costs. You pay a monthly fee based on what you use, and you always have access to the latest hardware and software updates.
Cloud services will save businesses a significant amount on equipment costs. Software streaming from a powerful server in a remote data center can be accessed with moderately powered equipment, such as a budget laptop or tablet. Employees can access their work from a familiar environment on whatever device they have available without sacrificing speed or power.
You Have Almost Infinite Scalability
One of the significant challenges associated with business growth involves scaling up your IT infrastructure to accommodate new staff. New hardware and software licenses increase expenses and add yet another hardware device that requires regular updates.
It can be just as problematic when downgrading where you will have an unproductive workstation until the volume of work picks up enough to justify hiring again.
Migrating to the cloud eliminates many of these challenges. During busy times, adding a new remote workstation to your subscription is straightforward. It’s just as easy to remove it and reduce your monthly expenses in the process.
Our Cloud Migration Services
Every organization has unique IT needs, so a cloud migration service will not be a one-size-fits-all approach. However, there are general processes that cloud migration services will follow.
Define the Cloud Migration Strategy
A cloud migration strategy will establish goals, such as what the organization would like to gain by migrating to the cloud and determine what applications are available in the cloud.
Establishing KPIs relevant to the business goals will ensure investment in cloud migration is worthwhile. Appropriate goals could include reducing costs, avoiding vendor lock-in, improving customer service, and improving accessibility for a remote workforce.
Audit of Existing Infrastructure
Determine the capabilities of your existing infrastructure according to industry best practices, including security, automation, scalability, disaster recovery, and more.
Create Cloud Migration Timeline
We develop a timeline based on your business priorities, milestones, budget, and available resources.
Prepare Your Organization
Readying your IT and development teams ensures minimal disruption to business continuity and keeps the team up to date with cloud technologies such as cloud migration applications and operational procedures.
Begin the Cloud Migration Service
Cloud migration service professionals can now start the migration process and move your services into the cloud according to the selected migration strategy.
Manage Workloads and Implement Security Protocols
Early cloud services were considered less secure than on-premises computing. However, today’s cloud migration services implement the latest measures and updates to secure your data against hackers. We also ensure load balancing keeps your employees productive even during peak demand.
Contact Us About Cloud Migration
Would you like to learn more about our cloud migration service and how it will benefit your business? Call today for a no-obligation discovery call and start developing a more cost-effective IT solution for your business.